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gscottar, you forgot to mention the name of Martinez’ agent. It is relevant, IMO. 😉
The way the signing game is being played now, there is no reason for a team to make an early offer and every reason to wait. Yet, the agents and top free agents act like they do not understand why.
LA #Dodgers shut door on Bryce Harper with signing of A.J. Pollock as the #Phillies continue to be favorite in Harper pursuit. https://t.co/law4zVY5tx
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 24, 2019
I found this in an article from Alden Gonzalez on ESPN regarding the Dodgers. It sounds eerily like another organization we all know.
The Dodgers, coming off back-to-back World Series losses, have chosen the pragmatic route, which shouldn’t surprise anybody who has followed the career of Andrew Friedman, their president of baseball operations.
Instead of chasing a once-in-a-generation star in Bryce Harper, a 26-year-old with considerable greatness ahead of him, the Dodgers shifted to the next tier of free agency, acquiring a 31-year-old center fielder who provides balance to their lineup and relief to their payroll. In agreeing with Pollock, the Dodgers went conservative, capitalizing on the inadequate rosters that make up the rest of their division. And they chose, most of all, to remain below the luxury-tax threshold.
Like it or not, this is who the Dodgers are.
Every year, it seems, agents put the Dodgers into the mix for all of the best players, and fans inevitably get excited only to be let down when the acquisitions are slightly less glamorous than expected. Under this regime, the Dodgers won’t tie an inordinate percentage of their payroll to one player. They won’t concern themselves with capturing offseason headlines. And they won’t mortgage their future for one season.
So Harper and Manny Machado will play elsewhere next season, just like Giancarlo Stanton, Zack Greinke and Robinson Cano before them.
They were all pipe dreams.
And the Dodgers still reached the fifth game of the World Series without Stanton, Greinke and Cano. Maybe they figured out something?
P.S. I like the Pollock signing, FWIW. Before the Goldschmidt trade, I had predicted Pollock would be the Cardinals’ big offensive addition this winter, but they aimed higher.
I can’t argue with that Brian. Reaching the WS two years in a row is nothing to sneeze at but I still feel like Friedman just doesn’t realize where he is. I have always felt that he and the Dodgers were a strange marriage. The Dodgers are about glitz, glamor, big names, big money, and Friedman just can’t help himself and get out of the small market mentality. Not that he hasn’t spent some money there but not to the extent you would expect from the Dodgers. Most of their spending has been re-upping players they already had.
Friedman was given the keys to a Ferrari and he acts like he is driving a Pinto. I often have thought that is why Billy Beane ultimately turned down Boston to stay in Oakland. He likes to operate the way he operates and that wouldn’t have been acceptable in Boston.
Like Mo, Friedman is not the owner of the Ferrari he drives. I would have to guess that he would be happy to spend as much as he is allocated. Unless a GM/PBO’s personal compensation is directly tied to the player payroll, they would have no reason to be more frugal than directed by ownership and many reasons to spend to the max, while at the same time, not screwing up the future outlook, of course.
My guess about Beane is that he preferred a lifetime job in Oakland versus maybe four or five trying years in Boston. Much higher expectations in the major markets, especially when in direct competition with the Evil Empire.
Strong statement to make. Unless you are pretty sure, you are going to have some upset fans. Or maybe he is setting up Stanton-like sympathy.
This and the Phillies owner talking about spending “stupid money” really stand out to me in a winter with most teams laying low.
#WhiteSox GM Rick Hahn will "be personally disappointed" if the team doesn't land Bryce Harper or Manny Machado https://t.co/yt9qQAwidp pic.twitter.com/WVaA19UkON
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) January 27, 2019
Hey #STLCards fans, you’re not the only fan base that thinks your owners/FO are cheap. https://t.co/kbi5R4ZAh5
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) January 27, 2019
Players are pissed… and owners are playing dumb. In the end, the fans are going to be the ones that suffer when all this results in an inevitable strike. https://t.co/9TeljSneqg
— Tom Ruminski (@TomRuminski) January 27, 2019
Never heard of Mark Saxon. Don’t agree with his “cheap” comment, and who nominated him to speak for all stl fans?
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Never heard of Mark Saxon. Don’t agree with his “cheap” comment, and who nominated him to speak for all stl fans?Saxon has been around for awhile. He currently covers the Cardinals for The Athletic. Before that I think he wrote for MLB.
I doubt if all stl fans would agree on anything but I guess he is basing his comments on feedback he has received from several of his followers on twitter or other social media. Obviously you are not one of those followers.
Oh, they’re cheap alright. They should have released Fowler, signed Harper and Kimbrel and then they could put a team on the field worth watching.
Nate, they would not be able to, because had they followed your past guidance, they would be shackled with one of MLB’s very worst contracts – Chris Davis. And what happened to the days not very long ago, when you said the Cards should “empty the farm system” to get Arizona to trade them Goldy? Now they have him, you seem to have forgotten all about it… 😉
Minor point, but Mark Saxon worked for ESPN prior to The Athletic. Before that, he was a newspaper reporter in California.
Just a guess, but he may be trying to get back in the good graces of the vocal Twitter crowd after he and Bernie took direct shots at them a few weeks ago and absorbed a lot of fire in return.
I agree with the thoughts that the Cards are cheap. It keeps showing year after year, there is always a so called EXCUSE for them not to spend a ton on a player.
Three weeks remain until position players report to spring training and little has changed the last month. The #Phillies still are the heavy favorites for Harper and the #Whitesox for Machado while everyone awaits to see who blinks first on the final pricetag.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 28, 2019
Saxon also was the one who started a few kerfuffles last season that put him in a bit of a bind regarding trust of the fans. I certainly don’t feel like he’s speaking for all Cards fans. While it may be frustrating that they don’t spend like some of the bigger market teams, most would probably prefer to have a shot every year rather than go the “Boom and tank” method.
Mozeliak spends money on the wrong players. But he was wise not to sign pujols or Heyward. Right now the Cards have the highly ranked prospects knocking at the door. In two years that won’t be the case. Finding players that will play in St. Louis for a number of years should be a priority…. ala Flaherty, Reyes, Bader and O’Neill.
Ny, please show me the MLB front office which gets all their signings right. I suspect you will not be able to find such a unicorn.
Take Theo, who I read was trying all winter to unload Chatwood and Heyward, but couldn’t do it. Then there is Darvish, etc…
Your expectations for perfection will never be met. For most, who can see the glass is not always less than half empty, the Cards have done a pretty good job avoiding serious mistakes that would handcuff the franchise.
As a reminder, Heyward’s deal alone is roughly double Cecil’s plus Fowler’s in total money committed.
Who exactly does speak for all Cardinal fans?? I would like to meet this person.
Maybe that is how Saxon’s comments were perceived by some but I highly doubt that was his intent.
I don’t think they are cheap but I do think the are very committed to their business model. As long as the model works they will be fine. the only question is what will they do if/when the model doesn’t yield the results the fans expect. Being on the playoff hunt every year enough? Getting deep into the playoffs but not winning a WS in the next decade or so enough? The farther away we get from 2011 the fans will get restless. I for one do not like their approach but I can quickly learn to love it with a WS win. Short of winning the WS is not good enough.
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